Combination moisture dehydrator and wind-blown musical instrument



July 19, 1960 J. J. RESSLER COMBINATION MOISTURE DEHYDRATOR AND WIND-BLOWN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed May 16, 1957 YINVENTOR. John J Bess-[er BY ATTORNEY United States Patent COMBINATION MOISTURE DEHYDRATOR AND WIND-BLOWN MUSICAL HISTRUMENT John J. Ressler, 1500 Shoreway Road, Storm Lake, Iowa Filed May 16, 1957, Ser. No. 659,542

4 Claims. (Cl. 84--397) My invention relates to wind-blown musical instruments and more particularly to wind-blown musical instruments having a moisture release valve.

The moisture which accumulates in brass wind instruments from condensation and saliva as air is blown into them greatly detracts from the quality of the instruments tone. To alleviate this situation most instruments employ a moisture release valve at a position where most of the saliva and condensed moisture will accumulate. This release valve is selectively opened and the moisture may then be blown out of the instrument. But even the periodic opening of this valve does not prevent some moisture from getting farther into the tubes and valves to spoil the tone at critical moments and leaking through the piston vents onto the player.

Needless to say, the necessity of repeatedly actuating the moisture release valve is very bothersometo' the player of the instrument. Furthermore, it is very oifensive to anyone watching the playing and presents a sanitation problem inasmuch as disease germs may be disseminated. The discharged moisture soils clothing with which it comes in contact, and the moisture not discharged from the instrument becomes foul and ill smelling.

Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a wind-blown musical instrument that will automatically and completely remove the excess moisture from its tubes.

A further object of my invention is to provide. a windblown instrument that will remove the excess moisture from its tubes in a sanitary manner.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a self-dehydrating wind-blown instrument that is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my device with the dehydrating element in operating position,

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view of my device showing the moisture release valve and dehydrating element,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the dehydrating element with a securing clip on one end, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of my device taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

I have used the numeral to generally designate a wind-blown musical instrument having conventional valves 12 and mouthpiece 14. A conventional moisture release valve 16 is located in the forward lower portion 18 of tube 20.

As shown in Fig. 2, valve 16 is comprised of ear 21 upon which lever 22 is pivoted by pin 24. The upper end 26 of lever 22 is secured in any convenient manner to one end of spring 28. The other end of spring 28 engages "ice portion 18 and the normal condition of the spring is such that the end 26 of lever 22 is yieldingly held away from portion 18.

The lowerend 30 of lever 22 has a felt pad 32 or other sealing means secured to its inner side. Pad 32 is adapted to normally close over and seal the port 34 when spring 28 is in its usual expanded condition. The structure thus far described defines the usual moisture release valve found on most windblown brass instruments in common usage today.

The numeral 36 designates a dehydrating element. As shown in Fig. 4, it is comprised primarily of an absorbent material 38 such as cotton. For most successful results, I have shown the dehydrating element 36 to be somewhat elongated, and the reason therefore will hereinafter be seen. It should be noted that the dehydrating element 36 is flexible and can be bent into any desired shape. A waterproof coating 40 is placed over the absorbent material 38. This coating can be of rubber or the like but many times the absorbent material 38 can merely be sprayed or dipped with a solution that will create a waterproof coating on the outside of the material 38. An opening 41 in the waterproof coating 40 is located at the forward end of dehydrating element 36 and communicates with absorbent material 38. Opening 41 and port 34 are substantially the same size. A spring clip element 42 can detachably embrace the rearward end of dehydrating element 36 and the arms 44 and 46 of the clip are adapted to removably embrace the portion 48 of tubing 20.

The normal operation of my device is as follows:

Preferablybefore the instrument is played, the player can open valve 16 by applying pressure on portion 26 of lei/ch22. This action compresses spring 28 and causes lever 22 to rotate on pin 24 and eifects the displacement of pad 32 from port 34. While the valve 16 is thus held in its opened condition, the opening 41 in dehydrating element 36 is placed over the port 34 in the portion 18 of tubing 20. The length of element 36 is preferably directed back towards the rear of the instrument. The pressure on the spring 28 is then released causing the end 30 of lever 22 to clamp dehydrating element 36 over port 34. This clamping action will hold port 34 and the opening 41 in element 36 in registering engagement.

Spring clip 42 can be placed on the rearward end of the dehydrating element 36 and the arms 44 and 46 of the clip can then be placed upon the portion of tubing 20 to hold the dehydrating element in an out-of-the-way position. It should be noted that spring clip 42 is only one of many ways that the free rearward end of element 36 could be secured.

With the dehydrating element mounted on the instrument 10 as described above, the player may commence using the instrument. As moisture begins .to collect in the instrument and moves toward portion 18 of the tubing, the absorbent material 38 in element 36 begins to function as a wick. This action is possible because the material 38 is permitted to communicate with the interior of the tube portion 18 through opening 41 in element 36 and port 34 in tube portion 18. The moisture in the tube portion 18 is immediately and automatically absorbed, into the material 38, with no manual activity of the player. The wick effect of element 36 will continue for long periods of time as it takes the moisture from the instrument and distributes it throughout the length of the absorbent material 38. Since the element 36 is moisture proof, the saturation of the material 38 will present no problems of sanitation. Furthermore, the element 36 can be easily detached and replaced at any time by opening the valve 16, removing the saturated element 36 and substituting an unsaturated element.

From the foregoing it can be seen that my invention accomplishes at least it stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my combination moisture dehydrator and Wind-blown musical instrument without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

1. In combination with a windblown musical instrum'enthaving a tube, a moisture release valve opening in said tube, and a spring actuated means secured to said tube for closing said valve opening; an elongated disposable flexible element with moisture absorbing capabilities having a portion of its surface adjacent one of its ends in communication with the outside of said valve opening, saiddi'sposable element being held in compression against said'valve opening by said spring actuated means, and a coating means impervious to moisture on the exterior surface of said element except at the area of contact with the valve opening.

2. In combination with a windblown musical instrument having a tube, a moisture release valve opening in said tube, and a spring actuated means secured to said tube for closing said valve opening; an elongated disposable flexible element with moisture absorbing capabilities having a portion of its surface adjacent one of its ends in communication with the outside of said valve opening, said disposable element being held in compression against said valve opening by said spring actuated means, a coating means impervious to moisture on the exterior surface of said element except at the area of contact with the valve opening, and means securing the other end of said disposable element to the tube of said musical instrument.

3. In a moisture dehydrating element for windblown musical instruments, an elongated disposable flexible element having moisture absorbing capabilities, a coating means impervious to moisture on the exterior surface of said flexible element, and a small opening in said coating adjacent one of the ends of said element, said opening having the same substantial area as the area of a moisture release valve opening of a windblown musical instrument and being adapted to, be placed in communication therewith at times.

4'. In a moisture dehydrating "element for windblown musical instruments, an elongated disposable flexible element having moisture absorbing capabilities, a coating means impervious to moisture on the exterior surface of said flexible element, a small opening in said coating adjacent one of the ends of said element, said opening having the same substantial'ar'ea as the area of a moisture release valve opening of a windblown musical instrument and being adapted to be placed in communication therewith at times, and a clip means on the end of said disposable element opposite to said opening, said clip means adaptedto hold said disposable element to'the tube of a windblown musical instrument at times.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 504,354 Lindstrom -a Sept. 5, 1893 810,132 Green Jan. 16, 1906 942,429 Allen Dec. 7, 1909 1,564,498 Thomas Dec. 8, 1925 2,363,289 Bergstein Nov. 21, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 568,504 Great Britain Apr. 9, 1905 125,622 Great Britain May 1, 1919 134,783 Australia Oct. 20, 1949 

